Instrument bed for knitting machines



April 6, 1965 s. H. NOLL INSTRUMENT BED FOR KNITTING MACHINES Filed May 14, 1962 INVENTOR.

GEORGE H. NULL A TTORNE Y United States Patent 3,176,479 INfaTRUVENT BED FQR KNITTHIG MACHHNES George H. Noll, Philadelphia, Pa, assignor to Wildman Eacquard Co., Norristown, Pa, a corporation of Eennsylvania Filed May 14, 1962, Ser. No. 194,290 6 Ciaims. (Cl. 66-115) This invention pertains to instrument beds for knitting machines and, more particularly, to beds of the so-called built-up type which utilize insert blades that form channels within which the knitting instrumentalities are supported and guided.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a needle bed which utilizes insert blades or needle guides which eliminate the cutting of needle guiding grooves in the solid wall of the needle bed member itself.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a needle bed which through the elimination of cutting needle guiding grooves therein eliminates the necessary hardening and subsequent straightening required for needle beds having the aforementioned grooves, and in the case of circular knitting machines it enables the grinding of the outside diameter of the needle cylinder thus assuring a fixed diameter for the bed portion of the'channels Within which the knitting instrumentalities operate. Maintaining a fixed outside diameter of the needle cylinder is extremely important in order to provide the accuracy that is required for such operations as needle transferring, etc.

It is a further object of the invention to furnish insert blades or needle guides that are provided on the upper end thereof with integrally formed forecuts which serve to provide clearance for the needle latches as Well as a means over which stitches may be drawn.

t is a further and more specific object of the invention to provide insert blades or needle guide members that can be quickly and easily removed from or replaced in the needle bed without removing associated parts or adjacent guide members forming opposite guide walls thereto.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following more detailed disclosure.

Needle cylinders having slots or needle guides cut directly into the outer wall of the cylinder very often present conditions of an undesirable nature such, for example, as the cylinder becoming out of round during the required hardening operation. Secondly, should a finer gauge cylinder be desired, a greater number of slots must be provided resulting in thinner guide walls which are easily broken rendering the whole cylinder unusable.

Needle beds of the built-up type used prior to the instant invention did not possess the combined features and the adaptability of applicants novel insert blades which are a decided improvement over insert members used in knitting machines of the prior art. Such insert members used prior to the instant invention employed a separate means of retaining these members in operating position that required the disassembly of associated parts in order to remove or replace one or more of these members.

According to the instant invention, a built-up instrument bed can now be provided which is of novel construction and the insert blades utilized therewith are pro vided at their lower extremity with an integrally formed snap ring arrangement making it possible to quickly and easily remove or replace one or more such blades. Contrary to mechanisms of the prior art, a separate means is not required to maintain applicants insert blades in operating position. Additionally," the uppermost part of these blades are machined in sucha manner that when assembled to the cylinder they form a forecut at the top of the cylinder, thereby eliminating the necessity of pro- Patented Apr. 6, 1965 viding a separate forecut blade and a ring to hold the same.

The invention will hereinafter be describedin greater detail by reference to the accompanying figures of drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken through a portion of the needle cylinder showing the method employed for positioning and maintaining the insert blades in operating position;

FIG. 2 is an end view on an enlarged scale of the insert lade shown in FIG. 1 showing the configuration thereof which defines a forecut when assembled to a needle cylinder;

FIG. 3 is a view in side elevation of the insert blade shown in FIG. 2;

PEG. 4 is a plan view of part of a needle cylinder showing several insert blades assembled thereto, the grooves in which they are adapted to fit, and the relative position of the needles within the channels formed by said insert blades. 7

Now referring to the figures of drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a portion of a needle cylinder indicated generally by numeral 19 and a cylinder extension 11 attached to the lower end thereof. The entire outer periphery of cylinder Ill) is provided with equally spaced longitudinally cut grooves 12 (FIG. 4) that are adapted to receive therein an equal number of insert blades 13. These blade members 13 are provided with integrally formed hooked members 14 and 15, respectively, on either end thereof. Hook member 14 which forms a portion of the top of the blade member is adapted as shown in FIG. 1 to hook over the upper edge of the cylinder permitting the hooked portion to bear against the beveled surface 16 of said cylinder which tapers inwardly and downwardly from said upper edge.

Hook member 15 which forms a portion of the lower extremity of the blade member 13 is adapted to snap over a downwardly directed blade retaining circumferential lip 17 which extends around the entire base portion of the cylinder. This lip 17 is formed by removing a portion of the outer side of a circular groove 18 provided in the base portion of the cylinder ltl. Additionally, the lower end of the blade member 13 terminates with a downardly directed nib member 19 which serves as a means for quickly detaching the insert blade 13 from the cylinder. By way of example, a screw driver may be utilized by placing the tip portion beneath the nib l9 and then pressing the shank against the cylinder extension 11; the hook member 15 will snap out of the lip 17 thus permitting removal of the complete insert blade from the needle cylinder. The upper and outer side of the insert blade 13 has been reduced in thickness as at 26 and defines an integral forecut which eliminates the necessity of providing a separate forecut blade and ring to hold the same.

Although the needle cylinder it) is provided with vertical grooves in which the insert blades are adapted to assemble, these grooves are of less depth and width than those required to support the knitting instrumentalities themselves and are far less susceptible to breakage since hardening of the cylinder is not necessary. Additionally, elimination of the hardening operation does away with the distortion of the cylinder often experienced from such operations.

Assembly of the blades in grooves 12 permits approximately one-half of the width of the blade to protrude from the cylinder defining channels 21 within which needles 22 are caused to function.

The usual spring 23 is utilized as a means to assist in preventing displacement of the knitting instrumentalities. It is adapted to fit into slots 24 formed in the lower portion of the blade members and encircles the entire needle cylinder in the usual manner.

In operation, these insert blades through their novel means of attachment can be quickly and easily assembled or replaced individually on the needle cylinder without disrupting or removing associated parts working in conjunction therewith.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to be understood thatthe inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. This invention is, therefore,'not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling Within the spirit of the in.- vention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. An instrument bed for knitting machines having in combination knitting instrumentalit'ies, a needle cylinder,

longitudinal and equally spaced grooves formed about the entire periphery of said cylinder, insert blades adapted to be received by each of said grooves, said cylinder in' eluding a circumferentially extending groove having a blade retaining lip defined by an undercut extending inwardly of the lip and a bevelled portion at the outwardly directed part thereof, said insert blades including inwardly directed and integrally formed hook members on the upper and lower ends thereof, the upper hook member being adapted to fit over the top of said cylinder and said lower hook member being adapted to snap over said retaining lip of sai-d circumferential groove.

2. An instrument bed for knitting machines having in combination knitting instrumentalities, a needle cylinder,

longitudinal and equally spaced grooves formed about the entire periphery of said cylinder, insert blades adapted to be received by each of said grooves, said cylinder including a circumferentially extending groove having a blade retaining lip defined by an undercut extending in wardly of the lip and a bevelled portion at the outwardly directed part thereof, said insert blades including inwardly directed and integrally formed hook members on the upper and lower ends'thereof, the upper hook member being adapted to fit over the top of said cylinder and said lower hook member being adapted to snap over said retaining lip of said circumferential groove, .said insert blades being further provided with surfaces of reduced thickness atthe upper portion thereof to define a forecut, thereby providing clearance for the needle latches as well as a means over which stitches are adapted to be drawn.

3. An instrument bed for knitting machines having in combination knitting instrumentalities, a needle cylinder,

7 longitudinal and equally spaced grooves formed about the entire periphery of said cylinder, insert blades adapted to be received by each of said grooves, said cylinder including a circumferentia-lly extending groove having a blade retaining lip define-d by an undercut extending inwardly of the lip and a bevelled portion at the outwardly directed part thereof, said insert blades including inwardly directed and integrally formed hook members on the upper and lower ends thereof, the upper hook member being adapted to fit over the toptof said cylinder and said lower hook member being adapted to snap over said retaining lip of said circumferentialgroove, a portion of the upper surface of said insert blades having an integrally formed forecut defining an area of reduced thickness extending in a horizontal plane and coextensive with the upper edge of the main body portion of said blades.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said forecut is centrally disposed with respect to the upper edge of said blade thereby providing clearance space on each side thereof.

5. The structure of claim 3 wherein the outer edge of said forecut extends outwardly a distance less than that of the forward edge of the body portion of said blade members.

6. A substantially flat, elongated, insert blade adapted to be applied to-the needle bed of a circular knitting machine which comprises inwardly directed and integrally formed hook members on opposite ends thereor,,one of said hook members being adapted to fit over one end of said needle bed and the other of said hook members being adapted to snap over the opposite end of said bed, a portion of one end of said insert blade being reduced in thickness with respect to the remainder of said blade to define a forecut.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,193,568 8/16 Lippitt 6 6-72 1,889,278 2/33 Lawson et al. 66-115 2,050,060 8/36 Lawson 66-115 2,108,772 2/38 Lawson et al. 66-115 2,135,187 11/38 Lawson et a1. 66-115 2,157,546 5/39 Lawson 66-115 FOREIGN PATENTS 465,170 8/51 Italy. 547,780 9/56 Italy.

RUSSELL C. MADER, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN INSTRUMENT BED FOR KNITTING MACHINES HAVING IN COMBINATION KNITTING INSTRUMENTALITIES, A NEEDLE CYLINDER, LONGITUDINAL AND EQUALLY SPACED GROOVES FORMED ABOUT THE ENTIRE PERIPHERY OF SAID CYLINDER, INSERT BLADES ADAPTED TO BE RECEIVED BY EACH OF SAID GROOVES, SAID CYLINDER INCLUDING A CIRCUMFERENTIALLY EXTENDING GROOVE HAVING A BLADE RETAINING LIP DEFINED BY AN UNDERCUT EXTENDING INWARDLY OF THE LIP AND A BEVELLED PORTION AT THE OUTWARDLY DIRECTED PART THEREOF, SAID INSERT BLADES INCLUDING INWARDLY DIRECTED AND INTEGRALLY FORMED HOOK MEMBERS ON THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS THEREOF, THE UPPER HOOK MEMBER 